ESPN says this is Michigan football biggest strength and weakness in 2025

[ASFN Admin]

Michigan football should be entering a new era in head coach Sherrone Moore's second year leading the program. The defense has a lot of promise given the returnees -- players and coaches, alike -- but the offense is set to be completely revamped.

The Wolverines brought in a new offensive coordinator in Chip Lindsey, two new quarterbacks in Bryce Underwood and Mikey Keene, former Alabama running back Mikey Keene, and more. The hope is that the defense will continue to be a top 10 unit while the offense will rise from being near the bottom of all of college football to becoming a functional unit.

ESPN evaluated all 25 teams on its 'way-too-early' list and determined which each team's strength and weakness is. Ironically enough, given the state of the defense, both the strength and weakness for the maize and blue comes from the offensive side of the ball.

Strength: Running game. The Wolverines always find a way to produce on the ground, and 2025 should be no different. Bowl game MVP Jordan Marshall and Alabama transfer Justice Haynes provide Michigan with a viable rushing duo. Key pieces up front, headlined by Giovanni El-Hadi, are back as well. The running game stands to benefit from what should be an improved passing attack.

Weakness: Pass catching. The Wolverines had just one player total more than 250 receiving yards last season, tight end Colston Loveland, who's now preparing for the NFL draft. Inconsistent quarterbacking played a part. But Michigan's wideouts didn't produce nearly enough plays to strike fear in the opposition. The Wolverines are banking that a pair of portal additions in Donaven McCulley (Indiana) and Anthony Simpson (UMass) can bolster the playmaking on the perimeter.

We certainly agree with the weakness, at least on paper, and until the wideouts can start to produce. The run game does look exemplary on paper, but given the offensive line problems from a year ago, it's unclear at this juncture that the run game will take off.

In our estimation, the front seven on defense is the strength of the program at the moment, but if the run game does take off, it would strongly benefit the Wolverine offense in 2025.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: ESPN says this is Michigan Wolverines biggest strength, weakness

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